6. Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)

Some traditional factories have reorganized into cells and cell teams, but have not realized the full benefits of lean manufacturing.  The missing ingredient is often Continuous Process Improvement involving the cell teams, with workers as leaders. In addition to continuous process improvement at the cell level, core support  and integrated production teams continuously improve the systems that support the lean factory. Management’s function is to guide the selection of CPI projects toward overall factory goals and to support the CPI teams.

• Workers use their own experience with obstacles to productivity, cycle time reduction and process and product variability reduction to systematically analyze, determine root causes, and fix problems. • Product/Process improvement is a major focus of CPI. The methods of “process based management” are used. • Producibility is a suitable subject for CPI teams. • Workers have and use data on total product cost of their operations, as well as information that numerically gages performance of their processes (such as process capability data or SPC data) to lead their attention to problem areas and to measure results. • External and internal customer feedback identifies problems that CPI teams can work on to improve customer satisfaction. • Worker CPI teams involve the total factory floor cell team, including deployed support people and product design/development engineers. • Manufacturing suppliers are often brought into CPI teams when supplier performance or supplier understanding of requirements for production are important. • Some CPI teams go to supplier factories to help solve sub-tier problems.

To make CPI teams successful, the right vision, factory organization and worker organization and empowerment must be in place.  These include: 1) a vision of lean manufacturing developed and promulgated, 2) factory physically organized into product cells/business units, and 3) teams established, trained, and empowered for each cell.  These early steps of toward lean manufacturing must be well underway before CPI is effective.

6.1.3  Process Management

Processes documented and metrics in place.  The steps should include  definition of processes, baseline metrics established (Process and Product Variation Reduction, Cost, Schedule, Efficiency), stabilizing the process, elimination of special cause, and identification of goals.  All metrics should be visible within the work areas.

6.1.4 Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Project Activity

Performance to metrics has identified projects to be worked. Involvement of workers  (and support people deployed to floor) in problem solving is essential. There are two basic types of CPI projects, corrective and preventative action.  Corrective action for quality issues is important, but preventative action is the focus of both Lean and AQS whether or not the process has quality issues.  Assigned CPI project members spend a measurable amount of time actively involved with Continuous Process Improvement.

6.1.5 Costumer/Supplier Involvement

External Suppliers and Touch Labor Operators form a partnership where the touch labor operator directly contacts the supplier for problem solving and process improvements for quality and non-quality items including redesign (non-quality) issues.  Communication between the partners should be direct and continuous.

Vision: Vision, factory organization and empowerment are in place to make CPI teams successful. These include: 1) a vision of lean manufacturing developed and promulgated, 2) factory physically organized into product cells/business units, and 3) teams established, trained, and empowered for each cell.  These early steps of toward lean manufacturing must be well underway before CPI is effective.

6.1  Continuous Process Improvement – Product Organization Level

6.1.1 Training for Team Members

Methods of problem solving, root cause analysis, continuous improvement are understood and utilized by Team members.

Methods of problem solving, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement are understood or utilized by  <10% of Team members.

10 - 24% of Team/Cell members.

25 - 49% of Team/Cell members.

50 - 89% of Team/Cell members.

90%+ of Team/Cell members.

6.1.2 Data Availability

Teams use real time data to assess cell performance, including total cost attributable to cell, and assess CPI efforts.

Data needed by touch labor to evaluate their performance has been identified.

 <10% of production. 3 or less elements.

Data is visible to touch labor. Touch labor makes input to data.

10 - 24% of production. At least 4 elements.

Data is visible in real time format to touch labor. Touch labor understands data and it’s source.  25 - 49% of production.  At least  5 elements.

Data includes a production efficiency measure.

50 - 74% of production. At least  5 elements.

Data is available to CPI teams including total cost attributable to each cell operations.

>75% of production. At least 5 elements.

Elements:

1.      Production Efficiency

2.      Inventory Levels

3.       Set-Up times (per part)

4.       Run Times

5.       Tact Time

6.       Performance Targets

7.       Cycle Time (Throughput)

8.       Performance Status

9.      Quality

10.   Cost

11.    Inventory Turns

6.1.3 Process Management

Processes are documented and managed using metrics.

No plans are in place to address cell level process improvement.

Higher level processes documented and metrics in place (defect rates, waste, CPK, etc.).

Lower level  processes identified and documented.

Improvement plans initiated on all processes not performing to goal.

Processes at all levels are being continually improved, based on a structured plan with a clear understanding of benefits.

6.1.4 CPI Project Activity

Assigned CPI project members spend a measurable amount of time actively involved with CPI.

No time spent on CPI projects.

Touch labor involved with only CPI projects concerning corrective action for quality issues.

Touch labor spends 10% or more of their time on process CPI issues.

Touch labor spends 15% or more of their time on process CPI issues.

Team members spend 20% or more of their time on process CPI projects.

6.1.5 Customer/Supplier Involvement

External suppliers and customers are integrated in to CPI activity.

Limited supplier/customer involvement.

Supplier/customer participation exceeds 10%.

Supplier/customer participation exceeds 30%.

Supplier/customer participation exceeds 40%.

Supplier/customer participation exceeds 50%.

6.2  CPI Factory Wide Level

Core support CPI teams attack system problems that affect multiple teams/processes. Examples are systems that support distribution of business data such as product/process costs, scheduling systems, factory shop floor control (MRP), non-conformance data bases, skills data base, just-in-time systems, and suppliers integration into over all factory operations, among others.

6.2.1 Training for Management and Core Support Personnel

Methods of problem solving, root cause analysis, continuous improvement, (e.g., Pareto data, process flow, Kaizen, failure mode effect analysis, process based management), are understood and utilized by CPI project members.  Benchmarking is an effective method to gather “Best Practices” for study and possible CPI implementation

6.2.3 CPI Projects Activity

Site has an aggressive CPI program for factory level improvements. Assigned CPI members spend a measurable amount of time actively involved with Continuous Process Improvement.

6.2  Continuous Process Improvement – Factory Wide Level

6.2.1 Training for Management and Core Support Personnel

Methods of problem solving, root cause analysis, continuous improvement are understood and utilized by CPI project members.

Methods of problem solving, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement are understood or utilized by  <10% of Management and Support Personnel.

10 - 24% of Management and Support Personnel.

25 - 49% of Management and Support Personnel.

50 - 89% of Management and Support Personnel.

90%+ of Management and Support Personnel.

6.2.2 CPI Project Selection
Management’s role is to assure execution of projects having the greatest impact on the enterprise goals and bottom line.

No systematic approach to identify or prioritize projects has been developed.

A traditional (rejection based) systematic approach has been developed and implemented.

A systematic approach utilizing Lean/AQS Manufacturing Practices and Principles has been developed and implemented.

Level 3 and CPI projects are selected with participation of cell level teams.

Level 4 and after CPI project implementation, results are analyzed and checked for desired outcome.

6.2.3 CPI Projects Activity

Support personnel assigned to CPI projects spend a measurable amount of time actively involved with Continuous Process Improvement.

Less than 10% of support personnel time.

At least 10% of support personnel time.

At least 20% of support personnel time.

At least 30% of support personnel time.

At least 40% of support personnel time.

7.  Workplace Culture

Section 1 (Leadership) evaluates actions that production leadership takes to change the culture in the workplace. This section evaluates the effects  of those actions on the attitudes of the work force. Benchmarking shows that leaders of top performing manufacturing companies develop a positive relationship with their work force. The work force trusts production leaders to be fair, open, and honest. Workers in those companies see the leaders involving themselves first-hand in operations to understand and correct problems beyond the empowerment of the work force. Based on mutual trust, the work force and management develop cooperative approaches to production. The workers increase their commitment to their jobs, to the company and the production leaders. Typically, worker commitment includes bringing their mental as well as their manual skills to the job. The ultimate expression of worker commitment is his or her commitment to improving their personal productivity, an essential ingredient for significant increases in  production performance by a company.

7.1  Worker Attitudes

This section addresses the attitudes of the work force toward their work, to each other and to the management. It seeks to assess the degree of trust, team work  and cooperative spirit found in the work force. In contrast to the Ford model of mass production, a lean production system needs workers who bring their minds as well as their physical skills to the job.

Vision: Based on mutual trust, the work force and management develop cooperative approaches to production. The workers increase their commitment to their jobs, to the company and the production leaders. Typically, worker commitment includes bringing their mental as well as their manual skills to the job. The ultimate expression of worker commitment is his or her commitment to improving their personal productivity, an essential ingredient for significant increases in  production performance by a company.

7.1  Worker Attitudes

This section addresses the attitudes of the work force toward their work, to each other and to the management.

A generally adversarial relationship between management and workers characterized by little contact.

<---- The score for this section is developed from a  worker survey.---->

A trusting relationship between workers and management is characterized by mutual cooperation to improve factory performance.

7.2  Workers’ Commitment to Change

Significant improvements in production performance require a commitment by workers to improve their personal productivity.

Workers are not committed to or don’t understand their role in lean or world-class manufacturing.  Workers don’t accept personal responsibility for or embrace a culture of continuous change.

Workers support a change from a traditional to “lean” or world-class production system. They do understand and accept metrics for their work units.

Workers accept the concept of continuous improvement.

Workers participate in the continuous improvement process and adopt the concept of “Process problems are our problems.”

Workers are fully committed to improving quality and productivity. Continuous process change is a way of life for workers.  They adopt the attitude of “Production is our responsibility.”